Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired. 

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August 08, 2016 On This Day: Wilbur Wright Flies in Europe Story | This Day in History

On this day in 1908, Wilbur Wright publicly demonstrated a Wright aircraft for the first time in Europe at the Hunaudières racecourse at Le Mans, southwest of Paris.

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August 07, 2016 Jimmy Doolittle: Daredevil Pilot & Fun-Loving Friend Story

On National Friendship Day, we take time to remember the friends that stand with us through good times and bad. World War II hero James “Jimmy” Doolittle was fun-loving and fearless as a teenager, making himself quite a few friends along the way. Looking back on his friendship with Doolittle, opera singer Lawrence Tibbett recalled some of the ups and downs they shared.

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August 06, 2016 On This Day: Enola Gay Drops Atomic Bomb Story | This Day in History

On this day in 1945, during the final stages of World War II, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

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August 05, 2016 The Year Aeronautics Was an Olympic Event Story | From the Archives

In the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany, an actual gold medal was awarded for Aeronautics. Gliding, in which aircraft were catapulted into the air, and aerobatics were demonstration events, with the hopes of becoming full-fledged events in the future.

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August 05, 2016 On This Day: Juno Began Journey to Jupiter Story | This Day in History

On this day in 2011, Juno began its journey to Jupiter. After an almost five-year journey, the spacecraft successfully entered Jupiter’s orbit, and has since been investigating the planet's origins, interior structure, deep atmosphere and magnetosphere.

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August 04, 2016 On This Day: Phoenix Launched to Mars Story | This Day in History

On this day in 2007, the Mars Phoenix lander was launched from a Delta II at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Phoenix flew to a site in the far northern plains of Mars where it analyzed components of the surface, subsurface, and atmosphere.

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August 04, 2016 The Art of Air and Space Story

Throughout the Apollo program, a range of artists were given unrestricted access to NASA’s various facilities in order to collect usable reference materials. Many of these artworks were donated to the Museum and form a valuable lens through which to examine the cultural impact of twentieth century spaceflight and aviation.

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August 03, 2016 Peace Through Strength: Two Cold War Weapons Story

This fall is the 30th anniversary of the Reykjavik Summit, a landmark meeting held in Iceland's capital between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

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August 03, 2016 On This Day: First Spacewalk Under a Shuttle Story | This Day in History

On this day in 2005, Discovery astronaut Stephen K. Robinson became the first person to do a spacewalk underneath a space shuttle orbiter.

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August 02, 2016 On This Day: The First U.S. Military Airplane Story | This Day in History

On this day in 1909, the United States government purchased its first military aircraft, designed by the Wright brothers and costing $30,000.

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